By afternoon, Hurricane Florence’s winds had dropped to 75 miles per hour, a weak Category 1 hurricane. But the worst seems yet to come as the predictions for river flooding begin to arrive. Florence remains large with tropical storm-force winds extending out 170 miles from center.

More than 1.7 million people evacuated this week, leaving behind homes, schools and precious belongings. For those wishing to track Florence’s devastation from miles away, PBS NewsHour has compiled this guide of sources that we will be closely monitoring as the storm progresses.

Search and Rescue workers from New York rescue a man from flooding caused by Hurricane Florence in River Bend, North Carolina, U.S. in this September 14, 2018 handout photo. Photo by NYC Emergency Management/Handout via REUTERS

Storm surge, rainfall and river flooding

The storm made landfall Friday at 7:15 a.m. ET, just south of Wrightsville Beach — about 6.5 miles due east for Wilmington, North Carolina. North of the landfall, more than 400 people have called for rescue from two towns near the coast: Jacksonville and New Bern. The danger came in the form of a massive storm surge.

River flooding could be a major issue over the next 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington. Starting around 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, water levels in local rivers will begin rapidly rising — by 17 to 27 feet over the course of 12 to 24 hours.

While we are still having strong winds in our area, and continued rainfall, one of the biggest concerns with Florence will be river flooding. We are forecasting flooding at multiple rivers in our area, some approaching major and record levels, starting tomorrow into next week. pic.twitter.com/ksV58ocSYa

Their assessment is based on figures collected by the Southeast River Forecast Center, which currently calls for moderate to major flooding at rivers in all counties near the North Carolina and South Carolina border.

If you click one of the dots, you can see real-time observations and projections for the next three days. Notice the lag in flooding; most rivers will begin to rise 48 to 72 hours after the storm exits the coast. North Carolinians can compare those measurements with this flood risk map to gauge how their areas might be affected.

The National Weather Center predicts another 20 to 25 inches of rain for the areas surrounding the Carolinas’ border, with 30 to 40 inches in some places. The rest of these states along with southwest Virginia should expect 5 to 10 inches of rain with 15 inches in places.

Power outages

Power outages have nearly doubled since this morning to 640,000 customers outages in North Carolina, the bulk along the coast.

Near Wilmington alone, Duke Energy reported 90 percent of its customers — 114,000 — had lost power. The other major supplier in southeast North Carolina — North Carolina Electric Cooperatives — recorded major outages extending 100 miles inland. You can track North Carolina power outages with these maps:

We will update this story with information on water quality, tornadoes and rescues as the storm progresses.

####

Sept. 14, 8:51 a.m. ET

Hurricane Florence has arrived. The storm made landfall Friday at 7:15 a.m. ET just south of Wrightsville Beach — about 6.5 miles due east for Wilmington, North Carolina. The storm has weakened to a Category 1, with wind speeds of 90 miles per hour. But these winds combined with a giant storm surge and a deluge of rain are brewing havoc along the coast.

More than 1.7 million people evacuated this week, leaving behind homes, schools and precious belongings. For those wishing to track Florence’s devastation from miles away, PBS NewsHour has compiled this guide of sources that we will be closely monitoring as the storm progresses.

Power outages

Power suppliers report more than 350,000 outages in North Carolina, the bulk along the coast. Near Wilmington alone, Duke Energy reported 67 percent of its customers — 86,000 — had lost power. The other major supplier in southeast North Carolina — North Carolina Electric Cooperatives — recorded major outages extending 80 miles inland. You can track North Carolina power outages with these maps:

Storm surge, rainfall and river flooding

Before dawn on Friday, authorities had been forced to rescue more than 60 people in Wilmington, some who had ignored evacuation orders. North of the landfall, another 150 people near the town of New Bern required rescue from floods along the Neuse River.

The danger came in the form of a massive storm surge. Coastal water has risen 5-feet above sea level near Wilmington and 8-feet above sea level near New Bern according to recorders in tide buoys, which you can track here.

If you’re worried about flooding away from the coast, then the Southeast River Forecast Center is your go-to stop. Their predictions call for moderate flooding at 43 rivers in North Carolina and South Carolina within the next 12 hours.

If you click one of the dots, you can see real-time observations and projections for the next three days. Notice the lag in flooding; most rivers will begin to rise 48 to 72 hours after the storm exits the coast. North Carolinians can compare those measurements with this flood risk map to gauge how their areas might be affected.

The National Weather Center predicts another 20 to 25 inches of rain for the areas surrounding the Carolinas’ border, with 30 to 40 inches in some places. The rest of these states along with southwest Virginia should expect 5 to 10 inches of rain with 15 inches in places.